It feels like a broken record, but it’s a broken record that keeps playing on the jukebox of 2020 and into 2021 – we NEED some good news! With everything negative happening in the world right now, we need positive news more than ever! That’s why, every month, we give you What’s The Good News? a look around the Quad-Cities at the positive things happening in our community. We run the column here on QuadCities.com, and in conjunction with our media partners at KWQC-TV6’s “Paula Sands Live,” I go on PSL to chat about some of the awesome things we list here. So, need some good news? We’ve... Read More

As previously reported on QuadCities.com, thousands of businesses statewide including a large number of Quad-Cities businesses, benefited from over $275 million in grants given by the state of Illinois to small businesses negatively impacted by covid-19. According to the business grant website, the Business Interruption Grant (BIG) program was developed by Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly to provide $580 million in economic relief for small businesses hit hardest by COVID-19. BIG – the largest program of its kind in the nation – leverages federal funding provided by the... Read More

Hundreds of Quad-Cities arts, entertainment and leisure businesses and similar businesses statewide — including Rust Belt, Ballet Quad-Cities, RIBCO, Playcrafters, Black Box Theater and more — were given a helping hand today as Governor J.B. Pritzker announced more than $275 million for hard hit businesses across Illinois. Over 9,000 emergency assistance grants have been made to small businesses in over 600 cities and towns statewide through the Business Interruption Grants (BIG) program, according to the  Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), making it the... Read More

It’s time for our look back at the year that was in arts and entertainment, 2020. Every day between now and New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, we’ll be posting a story painting the big picture on the year, a couple months each day. We hope you enjoy the look back, and let’s all hope for a happy new year and a much, much, much, much better 2021! Here’s today’s installment, where we look at the longest month of the year, and probably the decade, that being MARCH OF 2020. I think if there’s a time during the year that encapsulates 2020, it’s this time. March was complete and... Read More

It’s time for our look back at the year that was in arts and entertainment, 2020. Every day between now and New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, we’ll be posting a story painting the big picture on the year. Some days will have multiple stories, some days there was so much going on in one month we just stuck to that one. We hope you enjoy the look back, and let’s all hope for a happy new year and a much, much, much, much better 2021! Here’s today’s installment, months January and February, the two most normal months of the year. During this time, coronavirus was just a news story for the... Read More

Saturday In The Arts is a comprehensive weekly feature looking at a trend, personality, or major subject involving the Quad-Cities arts and entertainment scene. Making it through nearly five months of a paralyzing pandemic was bad enough, but for those of us in Iowa and the Quad-Cities, Aug. 10, 2020 and the days that followed seemed especially cruel. I’ll never forget that Monday afternoon, working on my laptop in the basement, a prisoner in my home trying not to go insane during a crazy year. The power suddenly went out, as a freak inland hurricane (or “derecho” – duh-RAY-cho – as everyone... Read More

EXCLUSIVE — Illinois Quad-Cities businesses have been notified by the state to begin preparing for a shutdown and covid mitigation procedures beginning Wednesday, multiple sources who asked not to be identified told QuadCities.com today. The sources are all local small business owners, and were notified last night so they could begin preparing. An official announcement from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker will be forthcoming Monday. According to the sources, there will be a number of mitigation actions put in place, including no indoor dining, limits to the number of people gathered in any... Read More

The 1953 Samuel Beckett classic “Waiting for Godot” has had a long wait for its premiere Thursday at Moline’s Black Box Theatre. But it’s perfect for a pandemic-plagued 2020. Directed by local theater veteran Mike Schulz (an Augustana College alum), he started rehearsals in May, originally as a partnership between QC Theatre Workshop and Mississippi Bend Players. A plan to do the mainly two-person play outside at a pavilion behind Brunner Theatre Center was later shelved, and it’s now going up independently at the small Black Box with a maximum audience of 26 – masks are required –... Read More

This weekend, YouTube and the National Independent Venue Association are doing an awesome thing for local music venues nationwide, and I’m sure many of you have heard about the star-studded Save Our Stages Fest. It’s the kind of huge, publicity-grabbing event that gets a ton of attention with people in markets across the country. Which is a good thing, because it’s for a good cause, and it needs to get in front of a large group of people to make that positive impact. I do not begrudge that at all, and I wholeheartedly encourage people to check it out, and any other event of that... Read More

Are you a local performer, theatrical actor, theater, or arts organization? We’re looking to provide you a virtual stage on the QuadCities.com site and social media! With covid rampaging, we know it’s a crazy time and we want to showcase your organization. No one can come to you but that doesn’t mean you can’t come to them. Along those lines, we’re producing a Virtual Cabaret called The Show Must Go On(line) and we want you to be part of it! The “live” event will air on our Facebook page on Friday, August 14 at 7 p.m. Submissions are due Friday, August 7 by 7 p.m. Use WeTransfer... Read More